Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has suggested Ireland will host another Gathering within the next decade.

As the current year-long event enters its final months and is on course to meeting Government targets of attracting 325,000 extra visitors to Ireland, the minister insisted it helped boost recovery in the economy.

"The Gathering we always said was a once in a lifetime opportunity," Mr Varadkar said.

"I think it would be wrong to repeat it too soon, but it will maybe happen again in seven or 10 years' time."

The minister confirmed the Gathering has cost the state €13 million over the last two years.

No figures are yet available to determine how much it has raised, but Mr Varadkar insisted the return will be "a multiple of that".

He was addressing the Global Irish Economic Forum - an event he claimed had also been "fruitful" in the past.

The first eight months of this year has seen an extra 291,000 visitors from the previous year.

The number of visits from the United States was up by 16.5%, while overall visitor numbers had increased by 6.5% from the same time in 2012.